Birth control should be distributed in schools without parental consent so that teenage pregnancy rates will drop along with STD and HIV/AIDS rates. Parents would prefer to be informed on their child seeking contraception, but this will just make teenagers have unprotected sex instead. According to CDC’s 2003 Youth Risk Behavior survey, “47% of high school students have had sexual intercourse, and 7.4% of them reported first sexual intercourse before the age of 13”(Anon. 2009). The reality is that teenagers are having sex and it can start at very young ages. Also, a huge issue with teenagers in today’s society is the high numbers in HIV/AIDS infections, “An estimated 4,883 young people receive a diagnosis of HIV infection or AIDS in 2004”(Anon. 2009). These numbers are extremely high so schools need to have condoms that can be easily accessed so that teens can protect themselves. There is an argument about parents wanting to require clinics to ask for parents consent when distributing contraception, but in reality this will increase our disease and teenage pregnancy rates. Teenagers do not want to talk to their parents about sex. In the book, Birth Control it stated that, “Teens will continue to have sex and will simply do so without contraception if laws require parental consent or notification to obtain birth control”(Anon. 2009). Parents should make their children feel comfortable to talk to them about birth control and sex, but making it required to inform them when their child is seeking contraception will only make things worse. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, roughly one in five teenagers would have unsafe sex if their parents had to be notified when they got birth control at a family planning clinic”(Anon. 2009).

There are many situations where telling your parents is not an option for teens. Many teens live in situations where they live with one parent, a step-parent, other relatives or on their own so if it were required by law to contact biological parents it may cause many complications. Some teens also face severe consequences or even violence from their parents if they tell their parents that they are seeking birth control services. Does this mean that they shouldn’t be able to practice safe sex if their option is to have sex anyways? In the book, Birth Control it states, “Minors fearful of retribution may forgo using contraception altogether, even though they are already sexually active”(Anon. 2009). Teens who seek contraception services are usually sexually active already so it would benefit them to be able to meet with health care providers to counsel them about sexually transmitted diseases and educate them about different birth control methods in their schools. Providing these services in schools will make it easily accessible to teens who may not be able to talk to their parents about it to go elsewhere. Birth control services should be available to teenagers in high schools without their parents consent.

Citations...

Photos:

Planned Parenthood Nassau County Action Fund. 2013. NYC Health, NYC. Web. 25 Feb 2013. <http://nychealth.tumblr.com/post/22655061912/heres-our-latest-educational-campaign-to-prevent>.

7 Common Birth Control Side Effects. 2013. Health Magazine, California. Web. 25 Feb 2013. <http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20408202,00.html>.

Information..

Gale Cengage Learning (2009), Birth Control, Nasso, Christine; Farmington Hills, MI

For more info on this topic view this video on the arguement of a NY school making birth control pills, shots and plan B pills available to their students..